Good question.There are two answers – one simple, one profound. Like anything the truth is probably found somewhere in between.
The simple answer: I have always liked the word. Sorry for the let down.
Tomfoolery in the everyday sense means having fun and being playful. It is definitely not the most apt description of my personality (I am quietly reserved, serious and almost always passionate). But in moments of freedom and excitement across my life I would often explode “enough of this tomfoolery!” After years of enjoying the word’s essence I found myself in a staff kitchen making lunch and thinking about a company brand name for no good reason while popping my lunch in the communal microwave. On a whim I said to myself, “if I start a company I will call it Tomfoolery.”
Right, brace yourself for the profound answer: I fundamentally believe
in the very core of my being that work should be fun.
In the creation story there is this account of Adam being given work in a
garden of paradise. I think about that story often and I don’t imagine him stressing,
sweating or trying to harvest the unlimited supply of food. I imagine it being
Tomfoolery. I know that is a bold ideal to carry through into the world we live
in but heck there has got to be more to life than the 12 hour day of an executive!
If you distill Tomfoolery down to its very essence it is as much a social experiment as
an endeavor to make millions. Driven by the courage of my convictions I have planted this
‘little idea’ in the seed bed of my life to see how it will grow.
Work should be our slave – for pleasure, fulfillment and the enrichment of others –
and not the polar opposite that is bandied about today as the only option.
Love
Tom